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Your letters: Tribute to the divers
On a mission: National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) divers are transferred on Jan
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span class="inline inline-center">On a mission: National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) divers are transferred on Jan. 4 by boat from the Purworejo search and rescue ship to Indonesia's KRI Banda Aceh warship as they are deployed to search for the wreckage of the AirAsia plane that crashed recently in the Karimata Strait. Bad weather has frequently halted their search activities. Antara/Fanny Octavianus
The search and rescue (SAR) ship moved gently as the storm clouds passed. Seagulls could be heard as the brave men suited up for their potentially deadly 26-meter-deep dive to the dark depths below: the unknown calling as if there was a magnetic attraction on their tired human forms.
The smell of fear in the air with nape hairs standing on edge was evident to all and the mood was reflective, still. Sea swells had been four to five meters high nonstop since Friday last and the brave men could not enter the water, as the danger was just too great.
But now a soft calm lay over the site as if by magic and the brave SAR teams prepared.
As the first thumbs-up was given to the safety officer and a confirmatory thumbs-up signaled back, without hesitation, backwards they fell holding their masks as they hit the water with a sudden thud, knowing this could be the last look at light in air.
Down, down, down, down, down 26 meters felt like eternity and the contrast of light fading quickly with sunbeams reflecting strange patterns as they descended as if in space and weightless toward the very bottom of the deep, deep sea.
Visibility was so much better now than previously and the team knew that this time, regardless of the peril, there would be success.
As they descended down, down, down small fish were there to welcome the visitors to their home deep beneath the ocean waves above. After what appeared to be ages heading down, patterns started to take shape in the deep divers' minds' eyes. Was this real, could it be true, was decompression illness already taking its cruel effect on the team?
The crushing pressure on the team's bodies due to the great depth was pushed aside and a keen focus on their surroundings enhanced the team's awareness.
Tomorrow is another day and the brave men will battle the 26-meter depths once again, diving into the darkness and unknown.
Cahaya MD
Jakarta
